By Jennifer Larson

Tonight is when the rubber hits the road for Justin (Dave Annable), because the Walker family has figured out he’s back on drugs in a big way. Honestly, it wasn’t as if they didn’t see this coming. They knew the minute he came back from Iraq with a horrific injury that his recovery was going to be more difficult than the average soldier’s. Than again, I don’t think Justin’s story is unique, which is what makes BROTHERS AND SISTERS so relevant, as well as entertaining. Apparently, drug abuse isn’t so uncommon in the armed forces, but who can blame them. I mean they not only have to leave their family and loved ones for ungodly amounts of time; they also have to put their lives on the line every single day. Not too mention the horrors of war that they see, so it’s no wonder that so many of them come home more than a little dependant on chemical substances just to get them through the pain.

But the Walker’s aren’t your average family, which means that Justin’s drug abuse isn’t the only challenge they have to face. Kitty (Calista Flockhart) and Robert (Rob Lowe) are dealing with the miscarriage Kitty suffered in last week’s episode, and than there’s Sarah (Rachel Giffiths) who’s trying to manage the mess her divorce is causing for her children. I guess this just goes to show, the bigger the family, the bigger the problems. Well actually, the problems they are dealing with are common in most families; they just have to deal with more of them at a time because of how large and interconnected their family is. But with the bad comes a lot of good as well, because they have more people to lean on in times of need. That’s just what makes this show so compelling. No matter what kind of trouble any one of them find themselves in, there is always somebody to turn to, and isn’t that what all of us want for our own broods?


Given the fact that Justin almost died from a drug overdose last year, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) did the only thing she could, she told the family that he was back on drugs in a big way. Knowing the Walkers they way we do, it comes as no surprise that Nora (Sally Field) planned an immediate and full-court-press intervention. Of course, Justin didn’t appreciate being ratted on, but really his life truly depends on it. The worst part is Justin has a point when he brings up the fact that his mother begged him to take the drugs in the first place. Given all that, it was still pretty low for him to bring up everybody’s faults just to make himself feel better; although, he was dead on with everything that he said, which only makes the situation that much more pathetic. But after going through this once before, Kitty has no illusions about how difficult it’s going to be, which is why she decided to take a tough-love approach and told him she would change the locks on the house, if he walked away without agreeing to get help.

Luckily it didn’t have to come to that, because Justin is more aware than anybody of the trouble he’s in. Meanwhile, Robert is dealing with some family issues of his own. It appears that somebody got their dates mixed up, and his daughter has come to join him on the campaign trail a little earlier than expected. Kids being kids, she doesn’t hold back when discussing the cruelties of eating meat while at lunch with her father and a major prospective supporter, who just so happens to be “the king of pork.” But that pales in comparison to the situation Tommy (Balthazar Getty) finds himself in. Due to the fact that he’s having a torrid affair with his office manager, he missed all the calls to make it to his brother’s intervention. Eventually good old uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) tracked him down, which means the cat’s out of the bag. You know he started that affair mere days after his wife took the baby and headed to her parents, which makes you wonder how devastated he really was to see them leave.


Being that Tommy entered the family crisis late, he’s a little bit behind the curve. He’s at the angry and disappointed stage, while the rest of the family, including Justin, has moved on to the fixing it stage, which includes helping him detox at home. And it isn’t a pretty picture, because helping somebody detox means holding their head while they puke; and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As bad as all that is, the biggest shock came when Saul finally told his sister the truth, which is that he’s gay. Need I reiterate how burdened this family is? That being said, they are also full of love. Even with all the troubles they are having, I still seem to feel optimistic after every episode, and this one was no exception.